Church History
Our beginnings...
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| Stained Glass at All Saints |
Before the 1900's, church services were held in the homes of Episcopalians living in Elmhurst township (later incorporated into Oakland). In 1901, a successful effort was made to organize a mission church, with the 'mother' church being Church of the Advent (now St. James in Oakland). Membership growth remained slow until 1906 when the earthquake and fire in San Francisco forced a number of families to migrate across the Bay and settle in Oakland. The influx of a group of Episcopalians into the neighborhood around 96th Avenue gave an impetus of growth to the small mission.
Among those who came to All Saints' was Miss Theodosia Prevost who encouraged the efforts of those who desired to build their own church. Her enthusiasm combined with that of others led to the laying of the cornerstone of All Saints' beautiful Carpenter Gothic sanctuary in 1911 on the corner of 96th Avenue and Plymouth Street, just six miles from the present location of the church. Eventually, a church, parish house and a pipe organ were provided by generous gifts from the congregation. However, by 1935, continued population shifts had once again reduced the mission to such a small number the congregation could no longer carry the burden of their accumulated debt.
At this same time, Old Saint Mark's Mission in San Leandro was experiencing a large increase in their population. Although they had no church in which to meet. Bishop Parsons, and Arch-Deacon Hodgkin, recognized the benefits to both small groups if All Saints' and Saint Marks were to merge. It was decided that the two small congregations would unite into one strong group, pooling thier resources and moving the church building from 96th Avenue to 911 Dowling Street. And so a church building with hardly any congregation, and a congregation with no church building, came together on an empty lot in San Leandro.
To facilitate the moving of the church, the roof was removed, with the work of preparing the property for the building beginning in December 1935 and completed in April 1936. There was some consternation on the part of the homeowners in the neighborhood when the unroofed church appeared. However, a petition, circulated by a Mrs. McKinney, was signed by the majority of the landlords which approved the positioning of the church at the corner of 911 Dowling Street, where services have now been held for more than sixty-five years.